ebuckner

Doubtful...I guess I will hold out hope then, but not sure that that is a good idea....thanks for your response!

Are others out there still waiting? I haven't heard anything from my university...which I would normally take as a bad sign, but someone said we all find out our status at the same time...and I am not sure what to think since it is a Saturday....I don't really want to write the office on a Saturday, but also don't want to wait until Monday!!

Hi all -- This discussion got a bit intense. I'm in an internationally-oriented social science discipline. We definitely don't do "talk circuits" -- I think publications, teaching experience and other forms of research and consulting are main factors in social sciences. I am friends with people who know faculty of this department well and I didn't think it would be too awkward to just write up one of the faculty members in the department and say..."so and so told me there was a job opening..." and see what additional info. I could get.

I know a t-t job as assistant professor in my (very narrow) field is opening up at a good (but not super-elite) university in the exact city I want to live in (across the country from where my PhD is) -- I have at least 2 good sources for this opening and so I know it's happening, and my field is small so there aren't a TON of jobs out there. I know that I am a competitive candidate for this position, but that competition for any job in my field is definitely fierce, given job market recently. So, I just was wondering does anyone have any advice about contacting a department and just asking for more info. about the job and introducing myself and my interest...even before the job is officially announced. Is that seen as bad etiquette? Or too pushy? I just want to make myself known and express my interest even before anyone else does!! Any advice on this? Thanks!!

fadedsunrise -- I presume (and this seems backed up by spreadsheet results) that only Fellowship notifications have gone out. I believe that Fellowship recipients heard a few days before Scholarship recipients last year as well.... (Clearly I didn't read what others wrote above...nice work on the evidence Naeseom, mine was just a hunch)

Water 28 -- are you a fellowship applicant or scholarship applicant? My guess would be that the likelihood of fellowship alternates getting the Boren is probably much higher (previous posters have definitely talked about getting the award after being an alternate) than for scholarship alternates. This is just because a lot of PhD applicants (myself included) apply to a ton of grants and the Boren as amazing as it is, is not always a top choice for PhD students who ultimately want to work in academia, because once you leave academia it is very hard to enter again. So, long and short, I definitely know of Fellowship applicants who turn down the award...not that I am planning to!!

Hold that thought! I literally *just* found out I got a Boren!! Yay!

Stoked chicken-- They decided long ago! I would presume the past month has been about dotting i's and crossing t's and determining specifically how much each budget is, I have always wondered with these scholarships though what determines actual date of notification -- is it just one las approval from up above? Or is it re-checking all details one last time...

I'm hoping for tomorrow! May 1st is the start of a new month, it just seems like a great time to send out notifications about the future....

Hi -- I received an NSG DDIG last year in Sociology, and the announcement date for approvals was not until June 24th. My email said that the panel met on May 5-6 and were were not informed until June 24th -- so that's right about 6 weeks. I would say that if the panel did not meet until April 12th, then (if last year is a model) then you won't be hearing until late May. Remember...takes a long time! A friend of mine who was a PhD candidate in Poli Sci also got a DDIG last year -- and her original deadline was exactly a month earlier (Jan. not Feb.) and her notification date was also exactly one month earlier (late May, not late June). So, I think that these dates are centralized and formal, and that decisions have been made quite a bit earlier, but there is really a lot of bureaucracy involved for those who are accepted, they go over your line by line budget, and title, and everything, and ask you to make small changes...so I think that there is a lot of close reading that takes time. Good luck though!!

Hi, I am a Fellowship applicant to Jordan and Tunisia, for roughly 10 months. My budget was very detailed, line-item description and citations of how I determined the cost estimate. I suspect just the Fellowship notifications have gone out, and so I'm crossing my fingers that the Scholarship emails will come out soon.

Yes!! I am a Boren Fellowship applicant to Jordan and Tunisia. I just got THE email....at 9:16 AM PST. Here is the text: Thank you for applying for the Boren Fellowship. At this time we want to make sure that you don’t have any small changes with your budget or timeline. We want to make sure the we have a clear idea the exact costs of your program (as near as you can tell at this point) and the exact dates. If you have large changes – i.e. you want to go overseas for 6 months, instead of 3, please do not send us those changes at this time. If you have changes, please email them back to me by Wednesday, March 28th. If you are changing your budget please use the same categories as you originally used, which can be found at - http://www.borenawards.org/boren_fellowship/budget.html (you should then specifically look at the overseas and domestic guidelines). If you have any questions please feel free to call or send us an email. Thank you.

Hi, I want to say this as nicely as possible but also want to be completely honest about the drawbacks of both programs -- recognizing that there are many great things about them. I am a PhD student in ICE at a comparably selective program but have not studied at either institution. But, I do care a lot about the ICE field and obviously know lots of people who have been through both programs. In general, my vote would be Harvard, not because of the name at all, but because I've heard really less-than-stellar things about the TC program...TC really has a reputation as being a diploma mill, even though their faculty are great, most of their students are balancing working full/part time with academics (many classes are even scheduled in the evenings for that very reason)...and MA students just aren't a priority with so many PhD students around. So, I think that the quality of the courses (less time = less effort on school work) is less than you would get at Harvard. Also, neither is really well known for faculty attention, but Harvard is probably a bit better than TC. In terms of the pathway to PhD, it's complicated. Research and good recommendations from networked professors are probably your best bets for PhD -- do you write a research paper/monograph/thesis in either program? If you can take that and turn it into a publication, go for that program! TC being 2 years might let you do that....however, you also need the chance to get to know faculty and even work with them, so again, we are back to the issue of faculty attention... Also, anecdotally, I think the Harvard program is a better pathway to PhD, but to be completely honest, you will probably need some work experience first after the MA. Last, I would go with $ -- no point going into huge amounts of debt if you ultimately want a PhD in ICE, the payoff is not that great.... Good luck!!!

My friend just heard she's on the WL there for Georgetown's MAAS....does anyone know anything about how many people make it onto the WL and how many make it off?

I didn't apply, but my friend heard back a month ago (May 25th to be precise) that she did get an NSF in Political Science -- although it is possible she applied in Comparative Politics. I didn't ask, but I'm pretty sure it's Political Science. Good luck!